THE Leader of the Victorian Nationals, Peter Walsh, has hit back at the State Government’s decision to restrict the 2021 duck shooting season to 20 days and apply bag limits of two ducks per day, describing the decision as selling out to secure “radical green votes in the city”.
Mr Walsh, the Member for Murray Plains, said the decision was motivated by politics, not science.
“With current data showing duck numbers are at a sustainable level and following above-average rainfall in eastern Australia in the past 12 months, the hunting community had looked forward to a full 12-week season – as legislated,” he said.
“For those who think this is just about duck hunting – it’s not. The Andrews Labor Government will sell out any Victorian to secure radical green votes in the city.”
For the Greens’ part, leader of the Victorian Greens, Samantha Ratnam, who represents the Northern Metropolitan Region in the state’s Legislative Council and supports a ban on duck shooting, said the season would go ahead “despite growing community opposition and native duck numbers declining every year.”
